The Success of Cobra?
by TinkerLJ
Summary: This is written in Sunbow style. Cobra Commander once again tries to take over the world and GI Joe comes to the rescue. Can they successfully thwart Cobra's plan in time? Will they live to tell the tale? LJ/F main...other Joes making appearances (revised and rewritten 5/7/17)
1. Chapter 1

_This story was one of my first. I've always kind of liked it and wanted to go back over it, smooth out the dialogue and continuity._

 _Thanks as always for reading. I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

A voice came over Com, "Hey, Duke! Get in here, quick."

"What is it Breaker?"

"We're picking up a Cobra transmission…"

"On my way," Duke quickly flipped the switch for the base Com.

* * *

Lady Jaye and Flint were in the Rec Room, playing a game of Chess.

"Check!," Jaye grinned, her brown eyes lighting up with anticipation of victory.

Flint frowned and studied the black and white board. His lips slowly curved into a smile. He moved his rook forward.

Jaye smirked, "I can't believe you fell for that!" She leaned over and moved her queen forward, "Check mate!," she cried, "I win!" She shouted triumphantly.

Suddenly Duke's voice blared over the intercom, "All Joes… assemble in the Command Centre, on the double."

"So, much for celebration," Jaye complained, already rising to her feet.

"Maybe we can do _that_ later," Flint grinned.

Lady Jaye was already heading out the door. She shot him a mock glare over her shoulder, "In your dreams, Flint."

* * *

"Breaker, what's going on?" The Joes asked as they rushed into to the Command. Duke had already taken his place in front of the screen.

"No way…," Breaker gasped.

What is it?" Duke asked.

"Duke, it's on all frequencies…local TV stations, Cable…It's all over the world."

"Wow! They've got subtitles in almost every language…," Dialtone muttered in awe. Mainframe and Breaker nodded in amazement.

"Twitter!"

"Facebook!"

"Vine!"

"Hey, I've got mail!" Mainframe grinned, "Oh, Cobra mail," his face fell. Duke gave him an exasperated glare.

"Yahoo and gmail? How did they do that?," Dialtone whispered in awe, checking all his personal accounts.

All the cell phones in the room activated at the same time, vibrating and playing a cacophony of melodies…"Texts, too?" Mainframe and Dialtone caught one another's eyes in disbelief.

All heads turned as Cobra Commander's blue masked face suddenly filled the screen. "Citizens of the World…" he began triumphantly. They could see the smirk forming under his mask.

"Breaker," Duke hissed, "Can you run a tracer on their location?"

"Wha… uh, oh yeah,…Sure, Duke," He punched in a few keys and the locator flashed up on the screen.

"narrowing…pinpointing…searching…"

"This is the dawn of a new era…The era of Cobra!," Cobra Commander spoke gleefully. "We have in our possession a weapon that can destroy all life as we now know it. The balance of power has finally tipped in favour of Cobra! Let me give you but a small demonstration of our power and might," He smiled coldly.

A busy scene faded in, replacing the Commander's face on the screen. It was filled with the movement and noise of a modern city…cars, buses, trains, and cell phones, computers, tablets, electronic billboards..people moving, going about their work and school and daily business… Cobra Commander's high pitched voice could be heard above the scenes as they played out on the screen. "Nice, isn't it." he said dryly, "An ordinary city, on an ordinary day. Now watch closely…"

A bright flash lit up the screen. Blinking rapidly, the Joes were suddenly aware of an eerie silence and stillness. On the screen, the cars had stopped. The busses had stopped. The trains and planes had stopped. All the computers and phones showed only silent black screens. The electronic billboards had darkened.

The faces of the people were frozen in shock. In the echoing silence, a single bird could be heard chirping…wind through the trees…

The scene disappeared as the Commander's face dominated the screen once again.

"This new weapon disables all devices containing even the smallest computer chip. Everything will be rendered useless. Think about it….," he paused dramatically, "This is what will happen…If, the leaders of the nations do not hand over one billion US dollars to Cobra. You have 48 hours to decide."


	2. Chapter 2

Pinpointing…searching…narrowing in…

The transmission was cut.

"Uh, sorry Duke."

"What do you mean, sorry?," his voice rose with frustration.

"I lost the signal."

"You what?" Duke yelled. He could feel a headache coming on. He rubbed his temples and sighed, "Well…, what did you get?," he managed to ask.

"There are somewhere in the Mediterranean," Breaker smiled nervously.

"Great….," Duke ran a hand through his blond hair, "Pinpoint it as precisely as you can. We're going to have to play a little game of hide and seek." He turned to the Joes. "We've got 48 hours to find and stop Cobra. Ace you've got air, Flint ground, Cutter sea…Assemble your teams and report to me straight away."

"Yes, sir. Yo Joe!," the Joes yelled, as they rapidly dispersed.

Duke paced his office, grumbling to himself. He was worried. Besides the obvious chaos Cobra's new weapon could wreak on the world, if all that Cobra Commander claimed was true, it also had the ability to completely disable GI Joe. Most of GI Joe's weapons and machinery contained computer chips, not to mention communications, security and intel. Without GI Joe, the world would be at the mercy of Cobra. Cobra had to be stopped.

"Sea Search Team reporting, Sir!," Cutter's drawling voice announced. Torpedo, Shipwreck and Deep Six stood at attention nearby.

Duke greeted him with a quick nod.

"Land Search Team reporting," Flint said. He was followed in by Lady Jaye, Snake Eyes, Alpine and Bazooka.

"Air Team reporting," Ace stepped in immediately behind Flint's team. Scarlett, Gung Ho and Wild Bill flanking him.

They quickly took their places around the room, waiting for Duke to speak.

Duke cleared his throat. "We don't have much information to go on. All we know is that Cobra is located somewhere in the Mediterranean with a weapon that could bring the world to it's knees. You know the drill. Find Cobra. Stop them from using the weapon. We have," he looked at his watch, "less than 46 hours. Now, get a move on!"

"Yo Joe!" The three teams separated and scrambled to their various transports, all heading for the same destination, The Mediterranean Sea.

* * *

"Cutter," Duke spoke into the Com, "What's the report?"

"We are just rounding Sicily now, Duke. The sea is nice and quiet. No sign of snakes."

"Keep looking."

"Will do. Cutter out."

Duke adjusted the controls and pushed a few more buttons. "Ace, what do you see from the air?"

"Not a thing, Duke. It's as quiet as a church mouse on Sunday."

"What's your position?"

"We are flying over the coast of Turkey now. We'll keep you posted."

"Good. Duke out."

He fiddled with the controls again then pushed some more buttons, "Flint, this is Duke. Do you read me?"

"Yes Duke. Flint here."

"Any sign of the snakes?"

"We are investigating some suspicious activity right now."

"What's your current location?"

"We're banked on the southern coast of Greece. Just a minute Duke…"

Static crackled over the speakers and then silence. "Flint…Flint? What's going on there?" Duke paused only to be greeted by more silence. He began tapping his fingers impatiently on the desk, "Flint are you still there?," Duke's voice rose, "Flint!"

"Sorry Duke…," Flint's voice came through the speaker, "Snake Eyes just got back…He was giving me his report…We've got them," he smiled darkly, "Lady Jaye and Snake Eyes found Cobra's nest."

"You found them! That's the best news I've heard all day. What's your situation?"

"Snakes made it out but Jaye is still inside."

"Was she discovered?"

"No, we don't think so. Snake Eyes said he saw her slip into hiding when the troopers arrived. He just managed to get away unseen."

"Good. So what's your plan?"

"We're going in."

"Flint," Duke spoke pointedly, "I guess I don't need to remind you to do whatever's necessary to destroy that weapon….," his face darkened slightly. "Be careful. I'll let the others know of your location. Back up is on the way."

"Right Duke. Flint Out."

Duke adjusted the dial to open all com links. "Cutter, Ace…, Flint found the snake's hole. They are on the southern coast of Greece. They need back up immediately. I'm sending the coordinates now."

"On our way," Ace and Cutter replied together.

Flint turned to the three Joes standing near him, his mind already formulating a plan even as he worked furiously through the details. They needed to get in and find the weapon…and find Lady Jaye. _If anything should happen to her…_ His heart gave a tight squeeze as he attempted to push down the rising fear.

Snake Eyes, sensing the emotional battle going through the Warrant Officer, placed a calming hand on his shoulder, "She is okay," he signed, "She will be fine." Flint relaxed and nodded his thanks, taking a deep breath to clear his thoughts. He was still responsible for these men in front of him and they had orders to destroy the weapon. _Time to move._

* * *

Inside the Snake's lair, Lady Jaye sat crouched behind a panel in the back up control room. She had ducked into the room to avoid the Cobra soldiers rushing down the hall.

"I hope Snake Eyes made it back to Flint," she muttered, trying to move into a more comfortable position without making any noise.

She knew she needed to get back to Flint and the team but it was impossible so long as Cobra troops were marching by in full view. One or two, her lips curved into a smile, she could easily take out. But a whole regiment? Well…, even Snake Eyes might have trouble with that! Somehow that thought gave her an odd sense of satisfaction. She sighed and waited. Unfortunately, time was not something she had.

She remained crouching so long that her knees began aching from the tight position. Finally, the shuffling of feet quieted. Hearing no other sounds, she rose to her feet stiffly. She was alone. She slipped out silently and began wandering the halls, not sure where she was or where she was heading, taking care to avoid Cobra soldiers.

* * *

"Alpine, Snake Eyes, cover me. Bazooka, you think you can open the front door for us?"

"Sure, okay Flint," Bazooka moved into position, aimed and fired. The explosion opened a hole in the door, violently shaking the snake's hideout.

"It's open." Bazooka grinned happily.

"Great job, Bazooka!," Flint slapped him on the back. "Alright guys, follow me in!," he yelled, leading the way.

The three Joes ran after him through the opening.

"Yo Joe!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Commander, It seems we are under attack," Destro spoke calmly, "The Joes are here."

"What?" Cobra Commander screamed shrilly, "Impossible! They couldn't have found us, yet."

"But they did. What now, Commander?" Destro asked.

"Shouldn't we retreat?," Zartan asked, already backing towards the exit.

"No, the Joes will not stop us this time. We still have the weapon, don't we?" Cobra Commander sneered under his mask. "Send the troops! COBRAAAAA!"

* * *

An explosion rocked the foundations, shaking a storm of dust and dirt to the ground. Lady Jaye coughed violently and began wiping the stinging dust from her tearing eyes. Almost immediately, an ear piercing alarm caused her to freeze. Cobra Soldiers reappeared and began running for the exits.

"Not again," she cried in exasperation, ducking into the nearest room.

"It's the Joes," she heard them yelling, "We're under attack. Hurry."

Lady Jaye quickly glanced around the room she had just entered. Her eyes widened in surprise as she spied Cobra Commander standing with Zartan and Destro.

"Just my luck," she muttered grimly as she crawled behind a long table at the back of the room. It was getting tiresome, she thought irritably, all this ducking and hiding. This was definitely not her day.

Cobra Commander spoke with eager anticipation, "Destro, begin the activation sequence for my greatest weapon ever," he chuckled, "With this, Cobra will rule the world!"

Lady Jaye froze. _The weapon?_ She poked her head out cautiously. The Commander and Destro were standing next to a large, complicated looking machine.

"Indeed. Might I remind you that the weapon was my idea?"

"But of course, Destro. But it was my plan to use it against the world."

"A plan which has all but failed."

"Silence. I will not tolerate your incessant doubting, Destro. This time I cannot fail. Active the weapon, NOW!"

"As you wish, Commander," Destro let out a long sigh.

Lady Jaye watched as Destro turned and began punching in the series of codes. The main panel screen lit up and began to flash.

"Target locking…" a computer voice spoke.

Lady Jaye slapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a cry as she recognised a map of the United States. She squinted her eyes in the effort to read the screen. The target was locking on… the San Francisco Bay!

She searched the room frantically for something, anything, to aid in stopping the countdown. She still had her javelins but how to use them…she paused…then noticed what looked to be an access panel on the lower end of the machine. An access panel should lead to the machine's main components…, she hoped. She crawled forward trying to get into position for a good shot. She knew there would only be one chance. She crept to the end of the table. Holding the javelin lightly, she took a deep breath and stood quickly.

"It's a Joe!" Destro cried out in surprise, "Stop her!"

Before any of them could move, she took aim and released. The incendiary javelin struck true. The side panel crumpled in the explosion and the electronics within melted in the heat.

The flashing light on the panel sped up.

"Locking…Locking…" a higher pitched computer voice spoke.

"You little idiot!" Destro turned to her furiously, "Look what you've done!"

"Commander," Zartan gasped as he stared at the blinking panel, "It's going to explode!" The machine was overloading. He turned and immediately began running from the room.

"Zartan, you coward! " the Commander screamed at his retreating back. "Destro, this is all your fault," he whined.

"10 minutes…" the computer voice spoke again.

Cobra Commander looked back to the computer, his eyes widened. "Retreat! Retreat!" he screamed, already running. Destro followed, right behind him.

Lady Jaye stood watching, about to give chase, when she heard her name.

"Lady Jaye!"

Turning quickly she saw Flint, Snake Eyes, Alpine and Bazooka.

"Flint," She yelled running toward him, "They got away…" she gasped, "The Commander, Destro and Zartan."

"Which way? We'll get them," he looked around the room.

"No time," she shook her head, "We have to go. Now! It's going to explode."

His eyes grew wide as he took in her words. "Let's get out of here!" Flint roared. He grabbed her hand, giving it a quick squeeze as he pulled her into the hallway. "This way!," he led.

The five of them ran.

"Faster!" Flint yelled, "Faster!"

As they neared the exit, they ran into Cutter's and Ace's teams just as they were arriving.

"Run!" Flint yelled, "It's going to explode!"

The new Joes immediately turned around and headed back in the direction they had come, running hard.

Suddenly, there was a flash of blinding light and then a rumbling sound started behind them, growing louder as it approached. Flint and Lady Jaye were the last to stagger out as the blast caught up with them, knocking them all to the ground. Flint instantly flung one arm protectively over Jaye as they covered their heads from the raining debris. Chunks of rock and dirt fell all around them. They lay there panting, trying to breathe through the dust thickened air. Finally, the ground stopped shaking. Lady Jaye coughed and sat up, her face red with the effort. Flint rose slowly to his feet, then reached down, gently touching Jaye on the shoulder.

His eyes met hers, "You okay?," he ask in concern.

She tried to speak but her dry throat only produced a croak. She nodded a yes and smiled, then she coughed again.

Flint held out a hand and pulled her up. She got to her feet shakily. They were both covered in dirt and debris. Flint looked her over carefully then pulled her to him, holding her in a tight embrace, trembling slightly. They stood that way a few moments before he turned.

"Everyone alright?" he cried out hoarsely.

"Yeah, Flint, we're good," Scarlett and Ace walked gingerly toward him. At the same time, Snake Eyes emerged from beneath the trees with two thumbs up. All three were covered in dust, their BDU's torn and dirty. Cutter and Shipwreck followed them beating clouds of dirt from the front of their shirts. Everyone was coughing.

Flint was carefully taking note of everyone present. "Where are Deep Six and Torpedo?," he asked.

"On the S.H.A.R.C." Shipwreck answered between wheezes.

"Bazooka?"

"I'm Ok," He crawled out from under a bush.

"Alpine?"

"Here," he jumped down from an outcropping of rocks.

Flint glanced around again, counting heads. "Wild Bill?"

"He's back with the Skystrikers," Scarlett informed him.

"Okay, that's everyone," he smiled finally. If there was one thing Flint was well known for it was that whenever he was leading a mission, he always did his best to make sure every man and woman under him got home. The Joes knew this and respected him for it.

"Would someone please me what happened in there? Was the weapon destroyed?" Shipwreck looked anxiously from Flint to Lady Jaye.

"Yes, Shipwreck," Flint relaxed visibly, relief washing over him, "We stopped it."

"Strike up the band boys and girls, it's time to have a party," Shipwreck grinned broadly.

Flint pulled out his com link and hit the power button. "Time to report to Duke," he smiled. The screen stared at him silent and black. He tried again but he screen remained empty.

The hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. "Uh, Ace," his voice trembled slightly, "Do you have a com link on you?"

"Sure Flint, what's wrong?" Ace pulled it out, pressed the button to turn it on and waited. He pushed the power button again, then frowned. "Sorry, nothing."

"Mine, too," Cutter looked in disgust at the com unit in his hand.

"Flint!" Wild Bill came running up, "I don't know what happened. All the electronics on the Skystriker just went dead…"

"Flint, man..," Torpedo yelled, running up. "The S.H.A.R.C is, like, dead. No power. Nada. It's like, just sitting there in the water."

"Oh, man… oh, man…" One by one the Joes realised what had happened. They fell silent. A bird was heard chirping in the distance. The waves crashing on the distant shore rumbled and broke. Cold fear washed over them.

Everyone turned to Flint.

"So, what do we do now, Flint?" Jaye asked nervously.

"We do the only thing we can do.…We wait."

The Joes gave a collective groan.


	4. Chapter 4

The Joes made themselves as comfortable as possible and prepared... to wait. They had no idea how long they would have to be there.

As a precaution, Flint assigned guard duty with two hour shifts. He took the first one himself. That's why he was there when Duke and his team arrived. As soon as he saw them, he hurried down the beach to greet them.

"Are we glad to see you, Duke," Flint smiled grandly, offering his hand.

Duke shook it and then slapped Flint on the back, "Am I glad to see you, too. Where is everyone?" His eyes darted around the beach.

"Up the hill," Flint pointed and began leading the way. "How did you get here?"

"Well, " Duke began, "We were a bit worried when we lost contact with you so I decided to lead another team of Joes into your location."

"But how is it that your vehicles and other devices are working?," Flint asked.

"As we approached your last known coordinates, we hit a place of complete audio and wave silence. I had Breaker and Mainframe working on it. I admit we moved in pretty nervously, but all our equipment continued to work. According to Mainframe, the weapon knocked out all the computer chip devices located within a 20 mile radius around the explosion. That's why all your equipment went dead."

"Oh..." They arrived at the location where all the other Joes were waiting. "Look who I found!" Flint called out.

Flint's, Cutter's and Ace's teams gathered around Duke and his rescue team cheering wildly.

"Man, are you guys a sight for sore eyes...," Torpedo laughed.

Snake Eyes and Scarlett stood to the side, their hands flashing as they rapidly signed to one another. Lady Jaye sat comfortably on a large rock near Flint, arms hugging her knees. Shipwreck was lounging against a tree, his eyes half closed. Duke took them in with an amused expression. Every one of them was definitely the worse for wear, streaked in dust and dirt, they looked like they'd been through quite an ordeal.

"That explains why we lost contact with you and why were were marooned here without transportation," Flint continued glumly.

Duke looked around at the dishevelled state of the Joes once more and grinned, "Since we arrived after the explosion, our devices were not affected," Duke stated.

"Then, I guess we didn't stop Cobra from using the weapon, after all," Flint admitted uncomfortably.

"Well…," Duke responded softly, "Their weapon did do some damage, but it was much less than their original threat."

Flint removed his beret in a nervous gesture. He was clearly agitated. "I still don't understand how it could have happened, though. I mean, Cobra, actually successful? They certainly got the better of us on this one."

"I don't think we were that bad," Scarlett spoke up quickly "After all, we did complete the mission and the threat on the world was successfully eliminated. You know, it could have been a lot worse. Cobra might have earned some points on this one but I think, in the end, we came out on top," Scarlett said encouragingly.

"I agree with you Scarlett," Duke said, "And anyway, at least we can say this one's over… Washington is happy. The world is safe. In my book, we did good." he smiled and cast his gaze over them all, finally saying the words they had all been waiting to hear, "Let's go home."

"Yo Joe!" they lifted their cries as one.

In groups of twos and threes, the Joes began winding their slow way to the transports.

Flint and Lady Jaye quietly watched them leave. Finally, when they were the only two left, Flint turned to Lady Jaye. She was still perched on top of the rock. With a lopsided grin, he offered her his hand, "Shall we?"

"Shall we what, Flint?," She didn't quite trust him and eyed him warily.

His eyes flashed suddenly in amusement. "This, Lady Jaye." He reached up quickly and grasped her wrist.

"Flint," her eyes narrowed, "What are you doing?" She tried unsuccessfully to pull her arm free.

"What I should have done a long time ago," he grinned.

She let out a small scream as he pulled, causing her to suddenly lose her balance. She slipped from the rock and he caught her easily in his arms.

Still gasping from fear and shock, her brown eyes wide, he bent down and kissed her gently.

"I win…," he chuckled as she melted in his arms.

A blush spread over her features as she suddenly remembered the Chess game from earlier. "No," she grinned slyly, "I think _I_ _still_ win." She leaned in for another kiss and whispered, "Checkmate."

* * *

Breaker, Mainframe and Dialtone sat in the Pitt staring at the monitors. Everything was quiet. Despite the fact that the danger had been averted and the weapon destroyed, the three computer techs were still in awe of Cobra Commander's mass messaging.

"Can you believe Cobra?" Mainframe began, "They went to so much trouble to develop that weapon that was supposed to take out all the computer chipped devices and it didn't even work properly," he shook his head in amusement.

"I know. It's a good thing they didn't realise what they did have," Breaker added slowly.

"I know, to access all those medias…," Mainframe's voice trailed off.

"So true…I can't think of anyone who has done that…" Dialtone added softly.

"And they didn't even realise it," Mainframe shook his head slowly in disbelief.

"Good thing for us, though," Breaker admitted.

"Good thing for the world," Mainframe quipped, glancing quickly at the other two, "I mean, who wants to wake up everyday to Cobra texts?"

"or emails."

"Definitely not my idea of a good thing," Breaker grimaced.

"Wow, man…, Cobra is really dense."

"That's why us Joes always win!"

The three techs burst into hearty laughter.


End file.
